I Can't Feel a Thing
by Petite Moineau
Summary: A look into Jake and Cassandra's complicated feelings and thoughts. A collection of one-shots which are better than this description makes them sound.
1. And I Can't Feel A Thing

**A/N:** **I can't get these two out of my head! This is trash but I hope you guys like it anyway. This may end up being a one-shot dump. I can see these idiots providing further inspiration. After all, we're only four episodes in.**

_She's pretty as a picture_

_She is like a golden ring_

_Settles me with love and laughter_

_And I can't feel a thing _

_~ (LA Song written by David Greenwalt & preformed by Christian Kane)_

_XxX_

Cassandra had gotten used to the idea of dying. When she had first been diagnosed she had spent a long time being angry and depressed. Her parents had stopped looking at her like she was was a bright and brilliant angel full of potential and instead looked at her like she was a tragedy. The little sad smiles that went away when they thought she couldn't see, the delicate way they touched her, like she might break at any moment. Her parents' sorrow, while completely understandable, was unbearable. She loved them but she couldn't stand the pity. Eventually she took a janitorial job with long hours that kept her as busy as possible. What was the point of going to school if she was just going to die soon anyway? And how could she hope to be accepted in a job, where her skills would actually be of use, when she was always having seizures? Eventually she stopped being mad and sad and entered into a strange stage where she felt relieved to be dying. She found peace with her death sentence.

Until they found her. Until she saw the Library. Finding out that magic was real and that so many wonderful things existed was like waking up from a long nightmare. The world felt solid and bright and lovely and for the first time in a long time Cassandra wanted to live in it. After living without hope for so long, she didn't want to let go of it. Flynn, Jake, Ezekiel, and Eve were all wonderful and she felt horrible for betraying them, but they couldn't offer her what she fiercely desired. The will to live seized her and overpowered everything else. She was blinded by it.

Did she regret what she did? Of course she did. She felt like the lowest of the low. As someone who had grown up with parents that expected her to be perfect, she had learned to be very critical of herself. But she was trying to put it behind her. Cassandra had learned her lesson and she had learned it well. She would never betray any of her friends again.

The worst part wasn't her period of self-loathing, the worst part was Jake. Everyone else had forgiven her and moved on. But Jake was full of reproachful looks and ignored comments. And after their little heart to heart, she didn't blame him. She didn't know what happened in his past to make it hard for him to trust people, but she wanted to earn it back. Not to ease her own conscience, but for him. She wanted him to learn how to trust again.

She's making up for her mistake now. Even if, in her friends eyes, her crime was absolved the moment he chose to heal Flynn instead herself, Cassandra still felt like she needed to redeem herself. What better way to do that than to devote the rest of her time on this earth to protecting it?

Jake braces Cassandra as she stumbles backwards. Her seizures caused her to lose her balance often. Her hands dart above her head as she interacts with her hallucinations. Jake can only wish he could see what she saw. He's constantly amazed by the speed and power of her brain. He talks to her calmly, trying to guide her through. It wasn't important. They were just hanging around the Library but she can't control when a seizure hits so he helps her.

When it passes she smiles awkwardly, mumbles a 'thank you', and goes back to work.

He sighs inwardly. She's become more distant since they had that talk after the Labyrinth. He had said what he meant. He didn't trust her, not completely. He'd told her he liked her and then put walls up between them. A working relationship was all they really needed. But in their line of work, it was difficult not to form close bonds. They dealt with life and death situations, shared the knowledge that magic existed, and fought together in an ongoing battle against those who would use magic for evil. How could he not feel close to her?

Still his mind railed against him. If she could betray them once, she could do it again. He would not allow himself to be a fool again. He wouldn't let anyone hurt his new family. Because they were like his family now. Odd and perhaps a little dysfunctional with a partially absentee father figure, but still real. They could understand him better than any of his blood relatives. He still loved the people he had back home, but the Library was where he belonged now and Baird, Jones, Flynn, and even Cassie were his family now. So he was determined to protect them, even if it was from each other. If Cassandra showed any signs of betrayal, he would do whatever he needed to do to make sure her mistakes don't hurt anybody.

It was a conflict within him, a constant struggle between vigilance and the instinct to be closer to her. And it was hard. Dammit it was hard. Her smiles, the way her eyes lit up when they learned something new about magic, the way her copper curls bounced when she walked. He had to constantly remind himself that he was keeping her at a distance for a reason. He had to remember what the past had taught him.

He finds her in the stacks reading a first edition of _Frankenstein_. She doesn't notice his presence, and so he watches her for a moment. Her brow is knit together in concentration and her lips are mouthing the words. Her eyes go wide and she pulls the book closer to her face. He was going to ask her something, but he doesn't want to interrupt her when she seems to be at a good part. He begins to leave but he's stopped by voice.

"Stone?"

"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you." Jake smiles briefly before beginning to leave again.

"What is it? Is there a mission?" The book is closed in her lap now.

"No, uh it's nothing."

"Oh. . .okay." Her fingers fiddle with the hem of her skirt and she looks up at him expectantly.

"That's a great book." Jake points at the book and nods. This time he really leaves, feeling stupid. She makes him feel stupid always.

"Wait, wait, wait." Cassandra hurries and catches up with him as he descends the staircase. She's clutching the book to her chest.

"What?" He pauses to speak to her.

"Does it end well?" She pushes the book forward a little to show what she's talking about.

"Do want me to spoil it?" Jake laughs and starts walking again.

"No...I mean yes. I-uh I don't know." Cassandra brushes a curl behind her ear.

"I like the ending. I think it's fitting." Jake answers. He hopes this is vague enough to satisfy her. "Why _Frankenstein_?"

"I've never read much fiction. I thought it would be nice to start with the classics. What better way to start than with the first science fiction novel?" She smiles like a child treasuring their christmas presents.

"I hope you like it." He heads for the exit.

"You know you can ask me." Once again her voice stops him. "I know you wonder about it. You treat me like a person and not a dead woman walking, and I'm grateful for that. But you have to be curious. What I'm saying is it's ok to talk about my tumor."

He's frozen. He wants to ask her a million things. He wants to let her know that he will always help her if she needs it. He wants to say he'd do anything to make it go away. But he bites his tongue.

"Goodnight Cassie."


	2. Buried Alive

_ Description: Jake and Cassandra are forced to hide inside an Egyptian tomb while being chased by the Serpent Brotherhood. Unfortunately the tomb seals them in. Will they escape before they run out of air?_

_XxX_

Why is it always tombs?

Cassandra clutched the artifact close to her as she and Jake fled down the unexplored catacombs of the ancient city Alexandria, agents of the Serpent Brotherhood hot on their heels. Eve and Ezekiel were supposed to have drawn them off while she and Jake snagged the artifact. Isn't wasn't the best plan, but as the Serpent Brotherhood was right behind them, they hadn't the time to think of a better one. Unsurprisingly, It hadn't worked very well. Two of the Brotherhood had broken off from the group to chase her and Jake. They had little time to research this artifact. All they really knew was that it was the last fully intact book that was smuggled from the library while it was being sacked and destroyed. The Brotherhood wanted it desperately. It had been a race to get the book first ever since they learned about it. It must contain something really important.

"Cassie over here," Jake pulled her over to a richly decorated wall, staring at it mouth agape.

"I know how important this is, but we don't have time to admire the hieroglyphs," Cassandra panted and held the delicately bound collection of papers.

"No, this is a hidden door. We can hide in here," Jake said, his eyes wide with his usual enthusiasm. He scanned the wall for a moment and then pressed in a hieroglyph that was carved out of the wall. The door scraped inward across the stone floor slowly. With the sound of footfalls coming closer. Jake tried pushing the door, but it only sped it up a little. The agents rounded the corner of corridor and raised their guns. The bullets buried themselves in the stone wall in front of her. Cassandra turned around to see how close they were. Something hit her and she fell back against the door. Jake grabbed her by the waist as she fell and pulled her into room. Interestingly, the door closed much faster than it opened.

It was completely dark inside the hidden chamber. The only thing that could be heard was their labored breathing. The air was stale and dry, worse than the tunnels they had just been running through. They sat in the silence and the dark for a few minutes before they realized that the thick stone prevented any noise from coming through. Jake pulled out his phone for light. Cassandra fell to ground, the pain in her left shoulder made her see red.

"Are you ok," Jake rushed over to her and shone the light on her.

"I think I've been shot. Here, take the book, I don't want to ruin it." Cassandra passed the artifact to Jake but he put it on the ground. She touched her shoulder and felt something warm and wet. Her hand came back glossy and rouge.

"That's not important right now, we need to look at your wound." Jake handed her his phone and stripped off her sweater. The movement sent shards of pain through her shoulder and she cried out. Jake shined his phone flashlight on the wound. "We need to stop the bleeding."

"I don't know if it hit anything important," Cassandra said her own voice sounding strained to her. Her skin felt slick with sweat.

"The bullet's still in there," Jake said, ripping off his own jacket and tearing it into strips. "But you're going to be okay." He began pressing the strips to her shoulder. Even more pain radiated through her.

"The human body pumps five liters of blood a minute and holds about the same amount," her hallucinations came unbidden. She visualized the muscle, tissue, bones, veins, and nerves in her shoulder and the statistics that came with those. "If it nicked the subclavian artery, I will bleed out in approximately-"

"Cassandra, Cassandra, look at me." He grabbed her hand, sticky from her own blood. "That's not going to happen, ok?" He looked at her, his mouth set in a firm line and eyes wild.

"I smell ash." The hallucinations faded as she focused on his face. He was trying not to show it, but he was really worried.

"We just have to get out of here," Jake said, using the strips as makeshift binding. Cassandra bit her lips to keep from crying out. He then fashioned her sweater into a sling and very delicately placed her arm in it. Every move was agony, her entire left shoulder felt as if it was on fire and she could tell the adrenaline was wearing off. She couldn't help but groan a little. Her hair was now sticking to her face and neck, damp with sweat.

"Where even is here?" Cassandra asked as he finished his first aid.

"I think it's a burial chamber." Jake said rising from the ground and using his phone light to look around. Indeed there was a sarcophagus at the center of the chamber and all sorts of artifacts lying around the room. Hieroglyphics covered the surrounding walls.

"I thought this whole place was full of those. Why have a secret one?" Cassandra moved to sit against one of the walls.

"To avoid grave robbers. It's likely that all those other tombs are decoys or belong to less important figures." Jake approached the sarcophagus and examined the inscription. "This is the real deal."

"Incredible," she breathed. "I wish the world could see all of this."

Jake looked around the room, staring intently at the hieroglyphs. He spent several minutes scanning each wall. The light his phone provided was not enough to illuminate everything though. "This is really something, I'm not an expert in hieroglyphs, but these are more beautifully preserved than anything I've seen before. Unfortunately, I can't see any way out of here but the way we came. Yet."

"The Serpent Brotherhood is probably waiting on the other side of that door. We're trapped." Cassandra looked up at him.

"And no service which means we can't call for help." Jake nodded, chewing on his bottom lip. He walked back and knelt next to her. His brow had not unfurrowed since seeing her wound. "How you doin'?"

"I feel like my shoulder is on fire." She tried to smile but it felt more like a grimace. "But I'm not dead, so I don't think the bullet hit an artery. I am still bleeding though."

"Listen, places like this always have a way out, it's just a matter of finding it." There he went again, trying to reassure her.

"I think you've watched too many Indiana Jones movies." She tried to laugh but the pain in her shoulder made her stop.

"Cassie-"

"This room is completely sealed. That means have a limited supply of air and we should conserve it." She licked her lips. "Talking uses up a lot of air."

He didn't look too happy about being silenced, but he said nothing and returned to his inspection of the room. This time he turned his attention to the artifacts scattered around the sarcophagus. He touched none of them but instead bent or crouched to examine them up close.

Cassandra didn't think he'd find a way out, but she didn't want to discourage him. She was sure the two of them were going to die in here. Either from oxygen deprivation or from the Brotherhood breaking in and shooting them. Even if Eve and Ezekiel found them, there was no guarantee they'd be able to find the switch that activated the door. This was the end of the road for them. At least the Serpent Brotherhood wouldn't get their hands on the book.

"I know what you're thinking," Jake said while still looking at the artifacts in the room.

"Please don't-"

"You may be comfortable with the idea of dying, okay, but I'm not." He looked back at her, that same displeased expression he had back when he was still sore about her betrayal. "I still have hope. I have to believe we're going to make it out of this."

"I never said anything otherwise." Cassandra looked down at her lap.

"I can practically hear you calculating how much air we're using up by talking. If you want to give up, that's fine. But I can't, I won't." He returned to his work.

She admired his tenacity, his spirit. And honestly, if anyone could find the way out of here it was Jake. He was intelligent as well street-smart and had such a passion for art and culture. It was hard for him to show it, he had spent most of his life hiding his love of art from his friends and family. Even though he knew he was free with them to express himself, old habits die hard. But she always caught that gleam in his eye when he was working. The little half-smile when he thought no one was looking. Even now, as he knelt down studying the hieroglyphics on the side of the sarcophagus, his face awash in artificial light, she could see his eyes practically glowing.

Her lids start to feel heavy. She could feel herself drifting off. Blood loss can make a person sleepy, she knew. Cassandra tried to fight it but she finally gave in.

XxX

Cassandra lifted her head from Jake's shoulder (she didn't remember him sitting next to her nor leaning against him). She must have been out a while because the air was pretty thin. He looked at her and tried to smile a little. The bleeding in her shoulder had stopped, she thought, so that was a plus. But it seemed as though Jake had given up on looking for a way out. As if answering her unspoken question, he gave a little shake of his head. Cassandra gave him a sympathetic smile and slipped her hand into his. Both of their hands were covered in her dried blood, but they were about to die together and neither of them cared.

"How did you handle it? Finding out you're going to die?" Jake asked her, his thumb lighting caressing her hand.

"Badly at first." Cassandra smirked remembering how foolish she had been. "I pretty much gave up on trying. I was useless for a while. But I came to peace with it eventually. Everyone reacts differently though."

"Any advice in our last hour?"

"I'm coming up empty." They both laughed which ended with Cassandra coughing painfully.

"We should conserve our air," he suggested.

"Does it matter anymore?" She pushed herself up off the wall and turned to face him. "I'm sorry I violated your trust."

"Cassie you don't-"

"No, Jake, I want to say this before we die. I don't think I ever apologized to you. Specifically. So I'm sorry" Her face was wet now.

"We've already put it behind us." Jake's hand was on her cheek now, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear. It may have been the blood loss but she felt light-headed. His eyes sparkled. Cassandra's heartbeat sped up and her face grew warm. He sat up and leaned forward.

Their lips met and Cassandra forgot the pain her shoulder. Warmth sprouted in her belly and spread over her body. His other hand came up on the other side of her face. She thrust her free hand into his hair, letting a little moan out as his tongue slipped into her mouth. They fought for each breath of stale, thin air. Finally they broke away, breathing heavily and leaning their foreheads against each other.

"I'm sorry we never did that before," Jake grinned.

"Me too." Cassandra moved back to lean against him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders, playing with her hair to avoid touching her injured shoulder.

The hormones that had been stirred up by kissing had abated and the reality of their situation hit them anew. Cassandra couldn't help crying. She had always thought she would face her death stoically. But this wasn't how she thought she would go, and she never expected she'd have something to lose. Eve, Ezekiel, Jake, Flynn, and even Jenkins were like family to her now. She would be leaving them behind as well as a life filled with adventure and magic. And now that she knew Jake cared for her, her mind was rife with the possibilities about to be stolen from them.

Jake held her as she wept, kissing them side of her head but saying nothing. Eventually her tears were spent and by then it was getting harder to breathe. She felt an overwhelming lethargy. Her brain wasn't functioning properly, but somehow she knew that their time was up.

"Goodnight Jake," she rasped, taking in one small last breath.

"Cassandra. . ." Jake slipped into unconsciousness, his last words unfinished.

The sound of stone scraping against reached Cassandra's ears and a bright light blinded her eyes. She saw a tall silhouette in the light and then nothing else.

XxX

When Cassandra woke she felt a felt a warm, soft bed underneath her. The pain in her shoulder was lessened to a dull ache. Two IVs feed into her arm, one giving her a basic saline drip, the other transfusing blood. Eve and Ezekiel were asleep in chairs next to her hospital bed. She smiled at them. Ezekiel woke up first and his face lit up when he saw she was awake.

"Hey, Baird she's up." He tapped Eve's arm not very gently and she woke with a start. He didn't wait to ask how she was feeling, he jumped to his feet and dashed away. Probably to get a nurse or something.

"How are you doing, Cassandra?" Eve smiled and stood next to her bed.

"I'm doing ok it seems. What happened? Last thing I remember is passing out. Is Jake ok?" Cassandra pushed herself up with her right arm.

"Jake is-" Eve was interrupted by a commotion outside the room.

"Let me in, I have to see her!"

Jake burst into the room, dressed in hospital clothes, followed by Ezekiel and a gaggle of nurses trying to hold him back. Ezekiel turned to the nurses and begged them to wait just a few minutes, meanwhile Jake rushed to sit by Cassandra. For a moment neither of them said anything. Cassandra bit her lip nervously. What if he wanted to forget what happened in the tomb? What if he just thought it was a heat-of-the-moment, we're about to die kind of thing? She didn't want to forget the kiss. She didn't want to go back to the way things were.

His hand was behind her neck and he pulled her into a kiss. Cassandra felt heat in her cheeks. Everyone was watching, but she soon forgot about that. Her stomach was doing flips. Someone fake coughed (probably Ezekiel) and they broke the kiss.

"I am so glad you're ok," Jake said.

"Me too, for you." Cassandra could still feel herself blushing.

"Well it was a really close call," Eve looked down at her shoes. "If we had gotten there any later than we did. . ." She trailed off and cleared her throat.

"Eve, what happened wasn't your fault. Our hands were tied, we did what had to do to get the artifact." Jake turned to reassure her.

"I just hope it was worth it," Ezekiel said, crossing his arms over his chest.

"We're alive, that's what matters." Cassandra interlaced her fingers with Jake's.

Then everyone's attention was drawn to a new person in the room. Flynn stood in the doorway, dressed in a blue button-up shirt with a bowtie and a nice, brown leather jacket. He had that impish smile on his face and held the book from Alexandria they recovered.

"You guys are not going to believe what's in here."

XxX

**A/N: Well I was right this did turn out to be a one-shot dump. I hope you all liked this one. I have no idea if there are catacombs beneath Alexandria. I just thought it would be cool. Also the end is open for you guys to decide. What do you think Flynn found in the book? (P.S. I'm 2 episodes behind so please no spoilers. Dx)**


	3. It Didn't Mean Anything!

_Description: Jake and Ezekiel find out a secret about Cassandra and have a little fun at her expense. Humorous fluff._

_XxX_

"These are the first editions you wanted to borrow, right?" Jake asked, handing Cassandra a handful of small notebooks.

"Yes, thank you!" Cassandra grabbed them from his hand, grinning like she had just gotten a christmas present. He returned the smile and moved past her, his arm brushing her back. Suddenly she had a flash of images of her and Jake together, skin pressed against skin, hair mussed, faces flushed. Cassandra's face burned as she remembered the things she and Jake did in her dream last night.

"Sorry didn't mean to bump you," Jake said.

"Oh that-that's quite. . .it's okay." Cassandra trailed off as he left the Annex lobby. She slapped her palm to her forehead.

"What was that?" Ezekiel asked from across the room.

"What?" Cassandra stood up straight, trying to act nonchalant.

"You were acting weird around Stone." He crossed the room to stand in front of her, arms crossed over his chest. He narrowed his eyes.

"I wasn't acting weird."

"Yeah you were and your face is all red." His eyebrows scrunched together. Cassandra put hands to her cheeks in distress. "You had a sex dream about him!" Ezekiel gasped.

"What? No! That's completely-" Cassandra broke down after he raised his eyebrows at her, "-okay how did you know?"

"It's written all over your face," he laughed like a cartoon villain plotting evil-y.

"You cannot tell _anyone_ about this, okay? Swear you won't tell anyone!" Cassandra advanced on him aggressively.

"Okay!" Ezekiel took a step back and put his hands up defensively.

"Thank you." Cassandra turned around and put the books in her bag.

"STONE," Ezekiel called out, "STONE!" He dodged Cassandra's attempts to tackle him and cover his mouth. Jake appeared in the lobby. "Cassandra had a sex dream about you."

"Ezekiel, you swore!" Cassandra tried to ignore her burning ears.

"If you trusted the word of a thief, is that really my fault?" He shrugged innocently.

"Yes!" Cassandra buried her face in her hands.

"You had a dream about me?" Jake grinned stupidly and put his hands on his hips.

"You know what, it didn't mean anything! It's the tumor, it always gives me weird dreams. Last week I had a dream about Mr. Green from the board game Clue and the little man that's on public bathroom doors," Cassandra said, rapidly trying to salvage her dignity, gesturing wildly.

"Still..." Jake looked at Ezekiel who was trying so hard not to bust up laughing.

"Ugh! I'm going home. If you two twelve-year-olds happen to see my co-workers, tell them I would like to see them tomorrow!" Cassandra threw her coat on and snatched her bag off the table.

"Maybe if you're lucky, you'll see us tonight." Ezekiel winked at her. He and Jake double over laughing and fist bumping.

"Lord give me strength," Cassandra sighed as stepped through the back door.

The next day was like out of the frying pan and into the fire. It started out quite normally. The LITs were busy with their own respective research, Eve and Jenkins were arguing about Flynn's stubborn desk, just business as usual.

At lunch Cassandra went to retrieve her food that she had stored in the (stolen) mini-fridge that Ezekiel had brought to Annex. She walked into one of the back rooms where the fridge was stored and there stood Jake, his foot propped up on a chair like a certain rum's mascot. He was wearing a deep green jacket and looking at her with the most cheesy, seductive expression.

"This doin' anything for ya?" He bit his lip and winked at her.

"Hilarious," Cassandra said in a monotone voice.

"Alright." Jake caught a blue bathroom sign that came from an unknown source across the room. He held it up on his knee. "How about now?"

"Did Ezekiel really steal a sign just for this joke?" Cassandra put a hand on her hip.

"Are you suggesting there's a better reason to steal a bathroom sign?" Ezekiel's disembodied voice called out incredulous.

"Okay, you've had your fun. You know, if this was a real workplace I could sue for sexual harassment." Cassandra walked past Jake, retrieved her food from the fridge, and left the room.

"Oh, come on, it's just a bit of fun!" Ezekiel called out as she left.

They kept teasing her the rest of the day, periodically holding up the sign or stroking it suggestively. Jake would wink at her sensually or walk by in her in a way that accentuated his ass. Cassandra was annoyed at first but eventually their antics got so ridiculous that she couldn't help but laugh.

At the end of the day every one was in a good humor. The day was uneventful, work-wise. The clippings book didn't seem to have anything for them and with all the goofing off very little studying got done. Eve could tell that none of them were focused enough for training exercises so she opted to forgo them for the day. It was 5:00 when everybody started to leave.

"Ok but seriously, how was I?" Jake walked up to Cassandra, who was putting her things away in her bag.

"What?" Cassandra laughed, not catching on.

"In your dream. . ." He paused and raised his eyebrows, "was I any good?" The stupid smirk he had had on all day was back.

"Well I don't like to dream and tell, but you were pretty good," Cassandra said, throwing the strap of her bag over her shoulder.

Jake smiled, pleased.

"But to be honest, you were no Mr. Green."

She stayed just long enough to see Jake's jaw dropping and then left the Annex.

XxX

**A/N: I am just awful at writing fluff pieces. Dx But I hope you guys liked it. I want to thank everyone for their follows, favorites, and reviews! I am so blown away by your support! ^_^ 3**


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